Grand Trunk betterments, etc.

The Work of 1898.—General Superintendent McGuigan states that 255 miles of steel rails, of the standard 80 lbs. weight, were laid during 1898. Over 400 miles of the road were greatly strengthened & improved. Sixty-six miles of new track, & 20 miles of sidings intended for the use of manufacturing establishments, were laid. 85 light iron, steel & wooden bridges were replaced by steel structures of the best & most modern description, their total length being 21,236 ft., or 116 ft. in excess of 4 miles. The number of running feet embraced in this achievement includes the 25 spans, or 6,592 ft. of the Victoria Jubilee Bridge, but does not include the splendid new structure spanning the Niagara gorge. Other bridges were likewise looked after, & the G.T. record for 1898 also shows that 35 wooden pile bridges & trestles, possessing a total length of 2,361 ft., as well as to overhead wooden wagon bridges, the whole being 1,108 ft. long, were completely rebuilt, most of these being on the branch lines.

The G.T. laid during 1898 1,759,833 cross ties, an increase over 1897 of 500,000. 312 miles of ballasting has also to be placed to, the credit of the road for this period, 262 having being done with gravel, & the remaining 50 with cinders, the latter being considered excellent material where the line passes over wet land, or where drainage is difficult. 61 wooden, stone & pipe culverts were renewed in stone during the year, while fine new buildings of all kinds went up all along the lines. Sixteen stations, 8 freight sheds, 2 coal chutes & 12 motive power buildings were erected, while 60 stations, 9 freight sheds & 9 motive power structures were remodelled, painted & repaired during the same time. Eleven of the 16 new stations were built in Ontario & Québec, 1 in Maine, & 5 in Michigan.

Railways: G.T.Ry.

Results